Seriously, I've been waiting outside the female change rooms for ages waiting for Kumiko. I gave up on holding onto my bag full of cycling gear, school books and all sorts of forms that I got given for all sorts of things. Moments before I move to go and get changed without her and then go find her, I hear the sound of hurried footsteps down a hallway.

"Sorry Yuu! I may have gotten a little lost. I somehow ended up on the other side of the building after handing in my club application form and then ran all the way around to here!" She puffs, she slows to a walk with her bags clutched in her hands and her cheeks turning red, she must really have run around from the other side of the school.

"Anyway, aside from getting lost, how was your first day of school?" I ask as we enter the change rooms. Metal lockers line the walls with benches placed in the middle to put bags and gear on. It's eerily silent as all the clubs have started their activities by now. Either that or they are out trying to gather new members for their club.

"Yeah it was great, there are some really nice people in my class, I have already have made some friends. How was yours?" she asks, dumping her backpack on the bench and emptying its contents systematically.

"It was pretty good, I met two really nice girls who are in the athletics team and told me about all kinds of important places are in the school…like the female change rooms" I say with a cheeky grin, Kumiko just looks back in shame which looks quite comical and cute

We both change into our cycling kits in relative silence with only the sounds of rustling clothes and zipping bags.

"Ready to roll?" she ask as we have both finished getting ready.

"Sure am, let's go" I reply. I put my school bag into my back pack along with my uniform and sling it over my back and walk out of the locker rooms behind Kumiko.

Whilst walking together to our bikes that were dropped off by my dad this morning, I can't help but think back to lunchtime when Fukutomi the captain of the cycling team was looking at me. Maybe he was just looking at me like everyone else was. Maybe they were told some rumour about me that I don't know about or maybe I'm just overthinking it. Everyone had looked at me for some period of time because I was the new girl in the class. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

When we reach the bike rack, the bikes that were parked here earlier today have almost all gone as people have headed home. We put on our helmets, glasses, gloves and cleats on and take out bikes out into the vacated parking lot. Out along the other side of the carpark I notice the cycling clubroom that Hamasaki told me about and explained to me where it was. It's a lot bigger than I expected, then again it is used for training as well so it would have to be. The door into the clubroom is open so sounds from inside can be heard from across the courtyard. I can hear people talking and the hum of rollers turning whilst people walk in and outside of the building, preparing for training.

"I guess it's time to go" Kumiko says as she gets onto her bike and clips in one of her cleats with that unmistakable 'click'.

"Hey, you leave first, I'll catch up on the downhill" I say as I have said many times before. Kumiko simply nods in agreement and sets off. Downhills are one of my favourite things, the high speeds and thrill is just so exciting. Kumiko is slower on the downhills but she has been getting faster by practicing more and gaining confidence.

"See you in a few minutes!" She shouts as rides out of the car park and out onto the road, clipping in her other pedal as she leaves. Her shouting must have been heard from the clubroom as now quite a number of people are standing outside looking at me. Again, again with the staring! Students of all ages talk quietly to one another, I'm guessing about me and Kumiko. Along with the bunch already outside, another three people walk out, two of which I don't recognise but one who I do. Fukutomi Juichi, the captain. One of the people who he walked out with is talking rather loudly. Granted I still can't hear what he's saying but it is definitely louder than the rest. Or maybe it's normal and everyone else is just super quiet.

Maybe it's a good idea if I head off now, I've almost had enough of all these people gawking at me in surprise and awe as a female cyclist. Sorry Kumiko, if I catch up I'll just wait for you at the bottom of this great mountain.

Rather hastily I clip in my pedal and launch myself off across the carpark and out into the road. The clubroom falls out of sight, thank goodness, so no one can see me very well anymore. Honestly I'm even more glad that I didn't fall over or have trouble clipping my cleat in. I don't need that kind of embarrassment when a dozen people are staring at me. Whilst pulling out onto the road I start my GARMIN to record and turn my attention to the downhill ahead.

The flatter area of Hakone quickly turns into a steep decent along the road with a brilliant view of the world below before. I shift all my gears down and power down into the pedals to speed down the mountain with cool air rushing past my body. I lean in around each of the corners and pick up speed in the straights, reaching over 65km/h before having to take an often sharp turn and loosing speed. Speed is crucial in a downhill section but is just as important as your positioning, weight distribution and the way you control your bike. Small movements may be all it takes to move a great deal when moving at such a high speed. You can't afford to become too distracted or take your eyes of the road ahead otherwise you could end up over the handlebars and crashing onto the road at 65km/h or faster.

After getting two thirds of the way down, a pink and blue jersey comes into view on the road ahead.

"Hey, took you a while, I am getting faster at this you know", Kumiko says loudly as I pass her by, quite a bit slower than I usually would, she sure is getting faster.

"Yeah, I underestimated you, you sure have been practicing your descents, but… you're still not as fast as me!", I reply whilst putting more power forward into my pedals and creating a bigger gap between us that continues to grow. She really has been getting more confident with going faster and having more control downhill.

The mountain begins to flatten out gradually and the town comes into view. Once the road flattens out and I'm off the mountain, I pull over to the side of the road safely to wait for Kumiko, luckily the roads aren't that busy at the moment. My heart is just racing after that decent, pumping from the exhilaration from the speed. I didn't have to wait long until Kumiko turned around the corner and she pulls up behind me on the side of the road.

"Where should we go today? We need to know the area around here better or we could just go out 30km or so and head back the way we came, which do you want to do?"

"I think we should go out for 25km or so and then come back to home, that'll be around 50km or so by the time we get back, how about we just make it up as we go?"

"Sounds like a plan"


Around two hours later we arrive home after doing a little less than 50km in that time. We ended up riding along some of the inter high course from the previous year as well as riding through some other towns that were nearby to get an idea of the area around my house.

My house is reasonably big and modern, along with most of the other houses around our area. It sits on a flatter area of land and is two storeys tall with a garage on the bottom level along with the main entrance to the left. The outer gate and garage is open and has one car in it with a separate side for all things bikes. Track bikes hang on the wall while a standing rack waits for our road bikes to be parked in it. Crates on one of the shelves lay empty, waiting to be filled with our helmets, cleats and other gear. While putting our stuff away,I hear my Dad opens the door to the garage. I look over to see him leaning on the door frame because he is such a cool Dad. I kid, he's pretty awesome and smart but can be a total dork at times, especially when he geeks out about work or his clients. He works as a sports physiotherapist and does everything from massages to rehabilitation. Sometimes he travels away to work in large races for teams and has even gone overseas for a few.

"How was your first day of school? Have you got a boyfriend yet?" He asks us both in his sarcastic yet pretending-not-to-be-sarcastic tone. His sense of humour has always been interesting and his attitude is different from that of most others. Although he has always been like a best friend to me, he is super supportive of me and Kumiko through our cycling career.

"Yeah it was great, I met two really nice girls in my class" I reply. He must've only recently returned home as he is still in his work shirt.

"Same here" Kumiko replies also, putting her bike up on her rack.

"Ah yeah, have you joined the cycling club yet?" He asks as I walk into the house with Kumiko behind me. The floor changes from concrete to polished wood, Kumiko closes the garage door and then the door into the garage from inside the house.

"We handed in our application forms, some a bit better than others" I say with a laugh and elbow Kumiko gently on her arm, "And we're going to go introduce ourselves tomorrow" I finish

"Sounds like you've got everything organised then", he replies

"Yup! Kumiko, you want to take the first bath?" I ask, she's already heading upstairs with her bag in her hand.

"Yeah I was just going too", she replies and keeps walking upstairs. I watch her continue up the stairs to her bedroom, I instead walk down into the kitchen and living area where my dad has gone to continue his tea.

"Hey dad, I've got a bunch more forms for you from the school"

"Really? How could there be any more?" he says sarcastically whilst waving one of his arms in the air with his tea in the other. I put my backpack down on the ground and pull out the forms.

"I dunno, I guess it's just some more school stuff" I reply to him, handing them over. He puts on his glasses and reads what he is signing. I take this opportunity to exit the living area and head upstairs to my room.

The stairs leading to the second floor are next to the entranceway and opposite the garage and lead towards the side of the house and then upwards along the side. Upstairs holds my bedroom, Kumiko's temporary room (since she's staying with us while her parents are overseas and my parent's bedroom.

I guess I'm going to have to start my work whilst waiting for Kumiko to finish her bath.